Texas Custom Telecaster – Setup

What a lovely piece of wood, a really great looking guitar. It’s got a couple of problems, mostly just setup, but the neck isn’t on straight either.  Since the truss-rod adjustment is on the heel of the neck I’ll have to take it off anyway. I don’t need to measure that with a feeler gauge, […]

Hohner – Re-Wire and setup.

A bit of a battered Hohner, in need of a little TLC…… The owner wants some new pickups fitting for a start, these pickups’ll sound fantastic but I fear it’ll need a little more than that… I think it’s a bit of a waste to fit a great set of pickups like that but leave the […]

Epiphone Les-Paul, Fret dress and Bone nut

Epiphone make some great guitars, they can just be a little inconsistent sometimes. The action on this one’s way too high. I don’t need to measure the amount of neck set, I can see it’s way to large. It’s also got a broken switch, but that’s an easy fix. First thing then, take off the strings, […]

Squire Mustang – Setup

Here’s something a little different, rather than the usual round of Stratocasters etc.  An odd scale length for Fender as well, just a little shorter than the usual.  However it just wasn’t playing properly. While the string were off I also gave the fretboard a good clean…. and oil…. The scale length means none of […]

Custom Shop Fender Stratocaster

WOW What a great guitar!  It’s not often I get such lovely guitar on the bench.  However It wasn’t quite playing as well as it should, so I gave it a bit of a tweek here and there. This really is something special, when Fender put you name on it for you.  out of deference to […]

US Telecaster – Setup

Why should a brand new guitar like this need a setup.  Simple answer, it shouldn’t.  However it’s been built a long way away, in a Californian desert, and travelled half way round the world.  How many temperature and humidity changes has it been through? It’s not really that bad, just needs a twist here and […]

Gretsch Double Jet – Setup

Nothing much wrong with this one realy, I think this range of guitars are excellent value for money, it just needs a little tweek here and there to optimise its setup. While the strings are off (It’s always worth fitting new strings before completing a setup) I gave the fretboard a clean and oil. The […]

Fender Telecaster – Intonation problems

Everyone loves a Telecaster, a cassic guitar, no-one should be without one!  There is, however, one fundamental problem with the original design.  The strings are paired up on the bridge saddles and so the intonation is always a compromise, perticulrly on the D and G strings. There is a simple solution though, compensated saddles.  I’ve […]

Gibson Les-Paul – Overhaul

What a great old guitar!  Despite it’s age (dialling the serial number into the web came out with 1960) it’s not seen a great deal of wear, it’s just had a little damp getting to it lately.  Luckily I think we’ve got it just in time! The frets are a little worn around the usual […]

Giannini – Fret Dress and Bone Nut

I’ve never come across one of these but I think I want one! What a classic look, no Beatles fan should be without one.  I played bass in a band many years ago, and as a Beatles fan had to try out a Hofner bass.  I could never really get on with it though, I […]